Charlie Starr is one of the world’s great electric guitar tone connoisseurs. You won’t find a bad one on a Blackberry Smoke record. And so, this month’s episode of Bought & Sold – the feature in which the great and the good of guitar talk all things gear – is sure to be a good one.
It is not without risk, of course, because to hear Starr talk about Les Paul Juniors, and what a P-90 pickup can do for us, is to plant the seed that maybe you do need one. Or maybe just a new guitar. Well, helpfully, he has some advice on how to buy one, too.
What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?
“I bought a 1978 Gibson SG with the harmonica bridge. It was a really horrible brown colour, but it didn’t have a narrow nut. It was a nice-sized neck, and it was sort of a thin profile – but it had a wide, normal nut width. So I guess that was a plus.”
What was the last guitar you bought and why?
“The last guitar that I bought was a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior. The reason why is just because I love them! I feel like I need to gather all of them unto me [laughs]. Every one I pick up is very much like snowflakes in that they’re all so different. But the one commonality they share is they feel so lived in.
“For some reason, more so than any other guitar, that’s the case – and I don’t know why. I mean, they’re not all great, but I’ve never picked one up and just hated it. I feel like there were so many of them, and they were student model-type guitars that were affordable compared with the Les Paul Standard and Customs of the day. Maybe they just got a lot more action. I don’t know that to be a fact, though.
“And I love a P-90; they’re just big, round, broad, and muscular. I always think of Leslie West’s big, fat, broad tone that he had with a Les Paul Junior. Pretty much any amp you plug into, you know, you turn that volume down, and it gets more and more like a Telecaster. It’s magical.”
What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying guitars?
I can’t say that I’ve ever had buyer’s remorse. I don’t buy things frivolously. I’m pretty patient and I’m pretty shrewd
“I was gifted a 1958 Les Paul Custom, which is probably the most extravagant gift I’ve ever received. I was also gifted a 1967 Gibson Hummingbird and a 1956 Les Paul TV Junior. I don’t even know how you reconcile that; like, a thank you is not enough.
“But I’ve found some good deals [myself] over the years – but those days are almost over, thanks to the internet. Within seconds, you can find everything there is to know about an instrument, so the crazy good deals are not easy to come by. But if someone gets desperate and they don’t care if they make a profit, who knows?”
What’s the strongest case of buyer’s remorse you’ve ever had after buying gear?
“I can’t say that I’ve ever had buyer’s remorse. I don’t buy things frivolously. I’m pretty patient and I’m pretty shrewd. Well, I guess there was this one… a newer [Gibson] Everly [Brothers] acoustic that I bought. I was thinking of it as a road guitar, and I bought it online without having played it. It got to me and it just wasn’t a good one. It just was really bad. I instantly felt some remorse then and knew what I had to do. I was like, ‘Oh, I have to sell this because it sucks.’”
Have you ever sold a guitar that you regret letting go of?
“Many of those! I had a ’54 Les Paul Junior that I let go that I wish I hadn’t. I had a 1969 Telecaster with a Bigsby that I liked; that era is how a Tele is supposed to sound. I had a ’67 and a ’69 that were Bigsby Teles that I really, really liked… I don’t know why I sold either one of them.”
What’s your best buying tip for anyone looking for their ultimate guitar?
“Be patient. That’s really the only advice I have. I know impulse buying is definitely a big thing for people buying guitars out there, and I’m guilty of some impulse buys from time to time, but more often than not, try to think about it because you want to play it.
“It’s a little risky to buy a guitar sight unseen, touch untouched. The funny thing about vintage guitars is that they’re not always great – but most of them are. But from time to time, you get a dud, something that’s dead. But I don’t know… I’m guilty of usually finding something I love about them.”
When was the last time you stopped and looked in a guitar shop window or browsed online, and what were you looking at?
“I was looking at Gibson Les Paul Goldtops, just because they’re Goldtops [laughs]. They’re great! And, man, I was just looking at some Gretsch White Falcons for a minute, and then I wound up getting one. I got an early 70s White Falcon, one of the double-cut ones. I love it; it’s fantastic.”
If forced to make a choice, would you rather buy a really good guitar and a cheap amp or a cheap electric guitar and a top-notch amp?
“I don’t like either of those choices [laughs]! It’s just disappointing. There are people who would say – and I’ve seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears – that some people sound better than all of us playing a cheap Squier Stratocaster, you know? Some people can do that, but I don’t enjoy that or even the idea of trying to do that.
“And bad amps… oh, man. Bad amps are just the worst. A bad amp is probably worse than a bad guitar because you can fight something out of a bad guitar sometimes. But a bad amp is just, well, it’s as bad as it gets. I can’t get down with that.”
If you could only use humbuckers or single coils for the rest of your career, which would it be and why?
“Probably humbuckers. They just may be a more versatile pickup – and I stress maybe.”
Charlie's go-to rig
“I’ve been using various 50-watt tube amps. I’ve been using a Germino Lead 55 and a 1960 brown Fender Concert; both are on all the time. Those are my two absolute favourite amps in the world at the moment. George Alessandro went through the Concert and tightened it up for the road. He did a marvellous job – it’s magical. As for guitars, I’ve got lots of Les Paul Juniors, a handful of Fender Esquires, and a really good ’64 Gibson ES-335.
“For pedals, I love everything that AnalogMan has, like the King Of Tone and the modded [MXR] Phase 45. I also love the Wampler Faux Tape Echo because it just seems to be the right length of delay. It’s long enough and works every time I put my foot on it.”
- Be Right Here is out now via 3 Legged Records.
- This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.
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